William N. Robson
| William N. Robson | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
William N. Robson II October 8, 1906 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Died | April 10, 1995 (aged 88) Alexandria, Virginia |
| Occupation | Radio director and producer |
William N. Robson (October 8, 1906 – April 10, 1995) was a director and producer of radio programs.
Robson was born William N. Robson II in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of William N. Robson and Gertrude Brehm Robson. His father handled public relations for the Loyal Order of Moose and was described in a newspaper article as being "known from coast to coast." He was involved in entertainment as early as age 9, when a newspaper article about a 1916 amateur production in Pittsburgh reported, "Little Bill Robson has six parts in the show ..."
Robson graduated from Allegheny High School and attended the University of Pittsburgh for two years, leaving the school to become a reporter for the Pittsburgh Post. He attended Yale University, graduating in 1928.
In the 1920s, Robson had his own musical group, Bill Robson and His Yale Music. In the summers of 1926, 1927, and 1928, the group toured Europe, performing in Paris, Vienna, and Berlin, among other cities.
Robson was the screenwriter for the 1933 Paramount Pictures film Private Jones. He worked as an associate producer at Paramount for three years.
Robson spent most of his career involved with radio. His radio debut came in 1936 as director of Big Town. He succeeded Irving Reis as head of the Columbia Workshop.
Perhaps the most notable of Robson's productions was Suspense, followed closely by the similarly formatted Escape. Suspense lasted more than two decades on the air with more than 900 episodes broadcast. Ronald L. Smith wrote about Suspense and Escape in his book, Horror Stars on Radio: The Broadcast Histories of 29 Chilling Hollywood Voices: "Both used the same format: a challenging (if anonymous) host introducing a story of murder or perhaps classic horror. Robson favored adaptations of anything from Poe tales to a good yarn in the latest issue of Esquire magazine."
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